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No child will be turned away from school

25 Mar 2020

The NSW Department of Education’s advice regarding schools is very clear. No child in NSW will be turned away from school.

Schools will remain open for parents who want their children to attend irrespective of their profession or working arrangements.

The decision to keep schools open has been made based on advice from NSW Health, which has not changed.

The department will provide continuity of learning for all students both on and off campus and the Premier, for practical reasons, has encouraged parents to keep their children at home if they could.

Schools will communicate directly with parents on what learning options are available using their communication methods such as the school website, newsletters, emails and other online tools.

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New COVID-19 restrictions begin as schools move towards online learning

23rd March, 2020

The NSW Government has taken significant new steps to increase restrictions across the state – triggering the next level of enforcement necessary to fight COVID-19.

Following the decisions made by National Cabinet, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the shutdown to protect NSW citizens.

“I understand many in the community are worried, and these changes will affect everyday lives, and may be upsetting,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“But these decisions will make us all safer, they are taken with the health of all citizens in mind, and they must be taken now.

“If you have the capacity to work from home, you should do so.”

In line with health advice, from midday today, the following non-essential activities and businesses will be temporarily shut down:

  • pubs, registered clubs
  • gyms, indoor sporting venues
  • cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos, and night clubs
  • restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery
  • religious gatherings, places of worship (excluding small weddings and funerals that comply with the 4m2 rule, which can proceed).

It is important to note essential gatherings at places such as hospitals, workplaces, constructions sites and for public transport are exempt and will continue.

As confirmed last night by the Prime Minister schools will remain open, based on health advice, which has not changed.

But from tomorrow, in NSW, for practical reasons, parents are encouraged to keep their children at home.

“Because nearly 30 per cent of children are already being kept out of school, for practical reasons NSW is encouraging parents to keep their children at home,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“This will ensure there is only one unit of work, whether the student is at home or at school.

“No child will be turned away from school.”

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Letter from NSW Health re. School Closures

Dear school community,

Please find above a letter from Dr Kerry Chant PSM, Chief Health Officer at NSW Health, regarding the issue of school closures in relation to the community transmission of COVID-19. Please note, at this stage, the advice is that, “…pre-emptive closures are not likely to be proportionate or effective as a public health intervention to prevent community transmission of COVID-19 at this time.”

As always, we are providing the most recent information to the whole school community, in an effort to allay fears, avoid impulsive action and keep you informed of current medical advice to schools and their communities. We are aware that the circumstances are changing with frequency, and that the closure of schools will continue to be prominent in federal and state Health Departments’ informed discussions.

A decision will be made on SRE and SEE classes ASAP and advice sent out in a timely fashion to all.

 

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‘Distancing Measures’ in response to COVID-19

Dear School Community,

Please read the latest press release in regards to the Department of Education’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

All schools have been asked to implement ‘Distancing Measures’ and, as of Monday 16/3, all school assemblies and excursions will be cancelled until further notice. The Year 6 camp, which was scheduled for next week, has been cancelled and Year 6 parents informed. 

We thank you for your flexibilty and understanding in these troubling times. As you will be aware, circumstances are changing very quickly and we will endeavour to keep you updated as new information arises. 

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Robotics

During Term1, Years 3-6 are taking part in a 10 week Robotics program run by Robokids. Students are learning to code and program through hands on challenges specifically designed to their year level outcomes across KLA’s. Each student will create at least 6-8 programs throughout the 10 weeks. They are working in pairs and have one robot and laptop between them. Each lesson is run and supervised by trained teachers from Robokids.

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Library Mural

Library Mural
Artist, Bhavna Khanna, did such an amazing job with the mural outside the DHPS library that it made the NSW Department of Education Facebook page!
The students are delighted in seeing their books, the ones they voted for, in colour on the wall.

 

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Year 1 Bake Sale for Drought Affected Communities

On Monday the 9th of December, Year 1 had a bake sale to raise money for drought and bushfire affected communities.

There were lots of cakes donated so thank you to all those families. There was lemon cake, butter cake, cupcakes, jelly cups, butter filled macaroons, biscuits, sponge rolls, spring rolls, savoury tarts, crackers, marshmallow tea cups, toffee and brownies.

We would like to thank all the teachers that helped us run the stall. Most of the food was gone by the end of the day. We raised $870! This included $57 raised by wonderful students in 5/6B, Alice and Chloe, who held a lemonade stand over the weekend. Thank you to all those who supported the bake sale!

Written by Annie, Sadie & Lily